In a memory cell comprising a phase-change material, the phase-change material is, for example, a crystalline chalcogenide. To program such a memory cell, the chalcogenide is heated to melt a portion thereof. After the heating has stopped, the molten portion cools down sufficiently fast to become amorphous. The erasing of the memory cell is obtained by heating the chalcogenide without melting it, so that the amorphous portion recrystallizes. The reading of the programmed or erased state of the memory cell uses the difference between the electric conductivity of the amorphous chalcogenide and of the crystalline chalcogenide.
Known phase-change memory cells have various disadvantages, such as a need for a high current during programming, and various compactness problems. Such issues are crucial, for example, for an electronic chip comprising several millions, or even several billions, of such memory cells.